LAARA CASSELLS

LAARA is a contemporary Canadian painter best known for her representational paintings and portraits. Since 2010 her award-winning work has been shown in over 100 exhibitions worldwide, including Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, South Korea, Poland, Switzerland and across the USA and Canada.

Artist’s Statement:

“ I have a passion for painting portraits whether of a human or an animal. I often work in series where I can develop a theme over time and I enjoy telling stories with my paintings.”

These images are from my “becoming” series which features 13-year-old girls. This is a fascinating age as it marks that important transitional period from childhood to adolescence. While my charming models have invariably shared a self-confident persona with me, I recognize that they are also volatile and unpredictable. They can be mature, affectionate and delightful, but also self-centred, moody, surly and backtalking. As this is a liminal stage when the individual is “neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between” (Victor Turner) I will be including portraits where the model shows a pensive, thoughtful moment, or is being moody as well as images of the girls being competent and powerful. Being a teenager has never been easy and I wish to portray some of the inconsistencies I have noted as these young women deal with the challenge of feeling invincible and invisible at the same time.

Acrylic on canvas

web address: www.laaracassells.com

email: laara.cassells@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laaracassellsart/

Instagram: @laaracassells